San Jose State defense faces steep Louisiana Tech challenge

SAN JOSE -- San Jose State's defense faces its biggest test when the Spartans host Louisiana Tech on Saturday.

The Spartans' unit impressed on the national television stage a week ago against BYU. But in closing out its regular season, it now must meet the challenge of the Bulldogs, who lead the nation in averaging 52.3 points and 581.3 yards of offense per game. That's a tough task, even for a defense ranked second in the Western Athletic Conference and 22nd in the country."Huge challenge," SJSU defensive coordinator Kent Baer said. "You watch them on tape, they scare you to death. I don't like to compare teams and numbers, but you've got to look at their stats. They're the highest scoring team in the country, the best offense in the country."

Louisiana Tech (9-2, 4-1 WAC) boasts quarterback Colby Cameron, fourth in the country with 334.5 passing yards per game. He went 444 passes without throwing an interception before he was picked off twice against Utah State last week.

He's complimented by the top rushing offense in the WAC. Freshman Kenneth Dixon is second in the conference with 1,161 yards and leads the WAC with 27 touchdowns. Senior Ray Holly has 708 rushing yards.

The Bulldogs operate at breakneck speed out of their no-huddle offense.

"What you've got to do is as soon as the play is over, you can't meander back," SJSU coach Mike MacIntyre said. "You've got to get up, look at the signals. You've got to have a sense of urgency in between plays."

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The Spartans (9-2, 4-1) have spent the week trying to simulate the speed of the offense in practice by having two scout team huddles to quickly rotate in plays. The defense faced 104 plays during a 90-minute practice session in preparation.

With SJSU's high-octane offense, the game seems destined to turn into a shootout. But the Spartans won't concede points to the Bulldogs. They are preparing to shut -- or at least slow -- them down.

"As a defense, we focus on keeping them to as little as possible," senior defensive end Travis Johnson said. "We know our offense is a great offense and they're going to keep putting up points. So our main goal is to play as hard and as quick as we can."

SJSU should have chances to score. Louisiana Tech's defense ranks last in the country, allowing 518.5 yards per game. The Bulldogs allow 37.3 points per game.

"That's something in our game plan," quarterback David Fales said. "We look that people do put numbers on them and we'll be able to do that."

There's a slim chance the winner of this game could earn a share of the WAC title, although it would take Idaho upsetting heavy favorite Utah State. That game kicks off at noon, so the teams will know their fate, but neither team is approaching this game expecting that to happen.

With a 10-win season and a final chance to impress bowl directors, there's enough motivation on both sides.

"One team has a chance to win 10 games and I think that's going to be a huge motivating factor for everybody," Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes said. "I'm disappointed it doesn't have conference championship implications, I'm sure just like (MacIntyre) is, but there's still a lot to play for."